Two men jailed after being linked to 2017 murder by DNA

Two men have been jailed for a combined total of 50 years after the Met Police linked them to a 2017 murder through DNA evidence.

Lekan Akinsoji, 27 (15.01.1998), of no fixed address, and Sundjata Keita, 27 (11.03.1998), of Cruikshank Road E15, appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday, 24 October. They both received life sentences. Akinsoji was jailed for a minimum term of 28 years, while Keita received a minimum term of 22 years.

A jury at the Old Bailey convicted the pair of a murder on Thursday, 9 October, in connection with the killing Ahmed Deen-Jah in East London.

A murder investigation was launched on Sunday, 2 April, 2017, after Ahmed - aged 24 - was stabbed during an unprovoked assault in a convenience store near Custom House station in Newham.

Detective Superintendent Kelly Allen, who led on the investigation, said:“I hope the long sentences provide some measure of closure to Ahmed’s family, who have waited almost a decade for justice.

“Akinsoji and Keita launched a cold-blooded and unprovoked attack. Worse still, they then sought to evade the law - and were able to do so until 2023, when damning forensic evidence came to light."

On the day of the murder, CCTV showed Ahmed entering the store on Freemasons Road, Newham, at around 15:20hrs, where he bought a cigarette lighter. He was seen to return to the shop around 30 seconds later, being followed by a man wearing a balaclava. The man chased Ahmed around the shop, before stabbing him and running away. Ahmed was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

Akinsoji and Keita were originally arrested as part of the investigation, within eight days. They were released under investigation as officers continued complex enquiries.

In 2023, an investigation review was carried out which included detailed phone analysis, placing Keita’s phone inside the car used for the murder. The car had travelled to Epping Forest following the murder, where it was later found on fire.

An evidence package - including forensic results from a knife sheath found close to the scene and DNA findings from the victim’s hand - was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service. This had shown a match for the two men’s DNA.

Following this breakthrough, the men were rearrested on Friday, 25 October, 2024, and subsequently charged with murder.

A trial for the two men began on Monday, 8 September. The court heard how Ahmed’s murder was a result of “tit for tat” violence between gangs, and that both men had been driving around the area in a stolen car, looking for people they suspected being in a rival gang.

CCTV played in court showed Akinsoji ambushing Ahmed and following him into the shop, before stabbing him.

Following the conviction, Ahmed’s father said he was “overwhelmed with relief” for his mental health and thanked police for working hard to bring the killers to justice.